The following article contains heavy spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The MCU continues to reinvent itself by diving in more deeply into specific movie genres that still keep that magical money-making formula that Marvel Studios discovered over a decade ago almost intact, in Shang-Chi’s case it’s martial arts movies of course.
Even before the movie premiered, critics’ consensus was that if there was one thing that made Shang-Chi stand out from any other Marvel film that came before, it was the action. It’s not like past MCU movies, or even the recent Disney Plus shows were exactly lacking in that department, after all, at their core, Marvel films can be considered superhero-themed action joyrides; instead, it’s because Shang-Chi’s action is so unique in a world where everyone is shooting color-coded energy blasts at each other.
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When looking back at the MCU greatest battles, the massive CGI-fueled clashes between the good guys and the villains far exceed smaller confrontations that can take advantage of thigh choreographed fights. That actually makes sense in a world filled with armored millionaires, Asgardian gods, the Hulk, magic, and almighty outer space beings like Thanos or even Captain Marvel, however, it also results in the better half of Shang-Chi being incredibly refreshing.
Most Shang-Chi reviews currently describe the film as being divided between the martial arts showcase that precedes the third act, and the world-threatening battle that begins once Wenwu sets the Dweller in Darkness free. While the latter is what really ends up connecting Shang-Chi to the rest of the Avengers, the script and fight orchestration prior to that do wonders to move the story forward and keep things exciting as the audience gets to this family’s story.
Sadly, one of the men responsible for carrying out this vision recently passed away, but the fact that Shang-Chi is dedicated to the late Brad Allan still speaks volumes of the importance of his work. Allan was a member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, and his work as a stunts expert in Hollywood will live on in movies like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Kick-Ass, Wonder Woman, Kingsman, and Rush Hour.
It goes without saying that Shang-Chi undeniably has lots of Jackie Chan and martial arts DNA, yet what’s most amazing about this MCU blockbuster is how it turns that into its most interesting facet, so much so that when the movie finally goes loose with Marvel CGI towards the end one cannot be blamed for yearning all those kicks, flips and punches that came before. Shang-Chi is -at its finest- a perfect blend of both styles, a goal reached thanks to the likes of Allan, as well as the film’s cinematographer Bill Pope whose credits include the entire Matrix trilogy and Baby Driver.
Now at a stage where everyone knows exactly what to expect from the MCU, Shang-Chi’s biggest feat might just be introducing something new to pay homage to the very martial arts films that inspired the character’s creation back in 1973, right at the apex of the kung fu craze led by Bruce Lee. Even if this is by no means a lost art, Shang-Chi proves how efficient it can be when put on the MCU’s grand stage.
The fight scene where Shang-Chi’s parents, Wenwu and Ying Li, meet looks almost like something that could belong in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; whereas the epic bus fight scene will remind many of Oldboy’s famous one-take hallway sequence. Even images of Shang-Chi, Xialing, and Katy fighting atop a bamboo scaffolding in Macau are testament to the film’s influences from Hong Kong cinema, which are perfectly capped off every time the great Tony Leung is on the screen.
If anything, Shang-Chi is a testament to just how cool it can be to have heroes and villains that lack any superpowers, which ironically was exactly what turned the likes of the Falcon and Hawkeye into the butt of the joke during the Infinity Saga. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier already proved that not having any superpowers is itself a great plot device for a lot of heroes and this is something the MCU should embrace moving forward.
Granted, with Black Widow gone there are fewer normal human Avengers, yet something like Hawkeye opens up the doors for Clint Barton and Yelena Belova to shine with a different type of action to what fans are used to seeing. The same premise could be applied to characters like Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight, or if and when Marvel Studios decides to rescue Netflix’s Daredevil for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
CGI enables a superhero world that decades ago only existed in comic pages and people’s imagination, but sometimes watching two enemies (or siblings) duke it out with nothing more than their own first can be just as exciting. Shang-Chi is Marvel’s first martial arts movie, but fortunately, the movie’s post-credits scene promises it won’t be the last.
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